Twin Flames
by rddrgn
Summary: Everyone knows that Tommy Mickens isn't the brightest bulb on the tree. He is brash and impulsive, two traits noticed when he steals the money from his brother Sam's safe and runs. But when a wandering vampire decides to take him in after he has been found shot and bloody is a new life in store for him? Or is his bad nature a habit just too hard to break?
1. Chapter 1

It was a quiet night in the Spring of Bon Tempts. Quiet in the sense that it wasn't a full moon and so no packs or shifters were running through the woods, Ange Duciel's home. Her home was large, grand and glorious, but it was hidden behind trees and by vines and moss and foliage. Of all her five hundred years of life it was her favorite place to be settled and she had been settled so deep into it for two hundred years she had adopted the always changing culture and the always steady accent. But however beautiful this quiet night wasn't something to be admired.

In the middle of the woods, far away from her home, she stood with her latest friend. She called her friend Little Darling because she had been so sweet under her care. You see, Ange was a vampire with an interesting habit-her habit included caring for those that needed assistance. It was mainly humans, sometimes young and abandoned vampires or little shifters or sick weres, that needed money, a place to stay, or even just something to eat. Regardless of what it was she could never deny anyone help. But she knew she could never keep them for long.

This night marked the three month anniversary of Little Darling's stay which was always the day the projects had to leave. Ange looked over Little Darling's red face as Little Darling refused to acknowledge her belongings were on Ange's shoulders in fancy bags. Ange remembered how she had found Little Darling-covered in filth, her brown hair knotted to know end, her eyes dead to the world-and now she was someone completely new. Her hair was short to her cheeks now but it still fell carelessly in different directions and her skin was clean and her clothes were new and her eyes had a hope that was just as promising as it was magnificent. But she could not stay.

"But where am I supposed to go?" Little Darling whispered, her little lips trembling as she stared out into the darkness.

"Anywhere you want," Ange replied, reaching her hand forward to push away LD's hair for the last time. "I set up a bank account in your name. There's two million dollars in it. Take a year and find yourself. Be who youwant to be."

"But I want to be with you," now is when the tears began to fall.

"You knew this day would come," Ange counted, turning her face away from the sad display. This was always the worst part, but she always warned them. She turned her face up to the sky, to the half moon, and let her long dark hair fall behind her shoulders to the middle of her back. She never knew how to put this delicately.

"I guess I just thought...it wouldn't come," Little Darling sighed, implying what was always the concern with little humans. She thought she would be made into a vampire too.

Ange turned her green eyes onto Little Darling's big brown ones. It was always so upsetting to see how truly they believed this fantasy. Human's always thought they were..."special." They always thought they weren't the same as the other one. They always thought they were loved or loved more. They had some sense of entitlement to them that they really didn't deserve. But she couldn't say all that now. Instead she simply smiled her all-lipped smile and said, "Time flies by when you're having fun."

"Do I really have to go?" her voice changed into that sad unnatural sob-like voice that was odd and annoying.

Ange lifted her hand up to gently grip Little Darling's shoulder, "You'll be fine. That direction will lead you to 167. Be well, Little Darling, do the things you have never and be the person you will."

"Bu-"

Ange didn't stay for the rest. She ran in the opposite direction, away from the still crying Darling. The sweet ones were always so difficult to let go of but it had to be done. She couldn't keep them forever. In a year they would get bored. In a year they would regret their lust for immortality. Humans never knew what they wanted.

In the pale moonlight Ange wondered if a midnight bath in the Spring would be best to start the new life, it was a quiet night after all, however a gun shot changed everything. In her forever curious state Ange ran toward it, deciding to hide in the trees to watch the huntings that were always so intriguing.

"So now you're gonna shoot me!?"

Oh...this wasn't what she was expecting. In the darkness she watched a fight unraveling between two young...no not humans. Shifters they must have been, they didn't smell like weres.

"Give me my money back."

This was an older one speaking and from the distance of the tree tops it was still evident he was handsome and furious. She assumed his go-to shift must be a dog since his features were so canine like already but she could be wrong.

"Fuck you. You came along, you changed my whole life, took away everything I knew. And now you're just throwing me away like garbage."

This one...this one was different. He was younger in both mentality and age but his heart. The beating of it...the passion of his tone...the terror in his eyes...the desperation in his voice...she could almost drown in it.

"I think I might have saved your life you stupid little shit."

It was troubling to continue observing this situation. It was escalating fast and it was hurting her to watch. This older one appeared to be civilized..he appeared to be an intellectual that had learned much from his past...to see this regression. She wanted to turn it in.

"Yeah, stupid! Rub it in!"

No! She turned her face away. His tears and his banging against his head proved too painful for even her to withstand. How could the older one be so cruel?

"Give me my money."

Was that what the large sack contained? Was this all about money? She suddenly found herself disgusted with the situaltion unfolding. If this was the end of a relationship she couldn't understand why it would be from something so stupid...something so simple as money.

"How am I supposed to live?"

The genuine question concerned her as well. How was he supposed to live in this truely fragile state of being?

"Get a job!"

Wasted. That is what he looked like. Wasted and tired and drawn in on himself. Sick...sick of giving. Maybe there was more to this that Ange had first interpreted.

"I can't fucking read!"

No...couldn't read? That was a real problem. How could he get a job without having the most basic skill down? And at his age? Where did he come from? Who had deprived him so?

"Not my problem."

Not his problem? It had to be. From the other statement about his changing the young one's life it appeared that he had become the new and unofficial gaurdian. Surely this must have be...just a fight. He can't let him go out on his own with no means to fend for himself.

"Fuck you...you ain't gonna shoot shit."

The young one turned around and at this Ange let out a sigh. Maybe this would be the end of the spat and everything would return to its order. But they weren't so lucky. The older one, the one that seemed so civilized, lifted his gun and shot.

Ange flinched as she heard the sound pierce the air and she shoved her hands over her ears as she watched the younger one fall to the ground so fast as if he were dead. The smell of blood filled the air around her but it wasn't the tantalizing kind she enjoyed from humans, it was the gross kind that smelled like sick and waste. This young man was hurt and she needed to save him. But the older one...he was still there.

Suddenly guilt filled in his humanity and he ran to the victim with such concern and regret. He shouted, "Tommy! Tommy shit! Stay here! I'm gonna go get some help! Wait!" before running back down the path he had come.

This was her only shot.

Ange rushed to the young man, Tommy's, side and dropped down beside him. The blood spilled out of him from his leg and it was too messy to determine how bad the injury was. She lifted him slightly, holding him against her chest like a child, as she caressed his face to wake him from his shock, "Tommy, Tommy, are you alright? Are you okay?"

"Angel...are y-...Heaven?" His words made no sense to her ears but the fact that he was still speaking was the only thing she choose to acknowledge at this moment. She knew she had to take care of him. She had to save him from the world and the dangers.

"I'm going to take care of you, Tommy, you're going to be okay. Just stay with me," she smiled as she lifted Tommy into the air, cradling him like a newborn baby as she ran through the woods to her home that held the medical supplies she hardly used. Her blood was an option to give but she never resorted to that first, that was a new vampire's flaw; there had to be another solution for him.

In her home she dropped him onto the diningroom table that stretched to fill the entire dinning hall. She had ordered this for those rare occasions when she had to take care of more than one handfull of projects at a time. He began suddenly to twist and turn in agony, breaking out of his painless transe as he took in his surroundings. He screamed, "Where the fuck am I! Shit! Fuuck! Fuck!"

"Stop moving!" Ange shouted, trying to calm him as she assessed the damage to his leg.

"No! Get the fuck away from me! Who are you?! Fuck it hurts so bad!" Tommy shouted, continued to try to get away, kicking his good leg at her hands that tried to help.

She grabbed both legs and kept them down with her vampire strength, sending waves of pain through out Tommy's entire body that stilled him for the moment, "If you keep moving I can't help you. Relax."

"Shit...you're a vampire! You're a fucking vampire!" he coward in shock induced fear that Ange was able to use to her advantage. She ripped open his jean leg and cringed to see the truth. His Tibia was broken...her blood was definitely necessary.

She brought her wrist to her mouth and cut the skin with her fang, alowing blood to flow free. She cringed inwardly, she hadn't exchanged blood with someone in over a century. She brought the blood to his mouth, "Drink. It's the only way we can take care of your leg."

"No! I've seen what that shit does to people! I'm not gonna get hooked on no V!" he protested but Ange wasn't having it.

She pressed her hand to his chest and pushed him onto his back, pressing her hand near his mouth, "Just drink."

There was no way he was getting out of this. His blue eyes stared deep, deep down into Ange's at a depth she had never felt before as his mouth tentatively began to suck the liquid that dripped from her so willingly. She closed her eyes slightly as she felt the force of her drain from her body and fill into his, as if by magic she could suddenly feel his alarm filling into her like the venom of a rattlesnake into the human blood stream.

"Shh, I'm going to take care of you," she tried to passify, finding his alarm disturbing and unnatural in her otherwise calm chest, but as the surface fear disipated a new kind filled her. She reached her free hand up and ran her fingers through his-dirty blonde like sand, shaggy like a dog-hair in the way she always had. But there was something different. Instead of moving into it he reclined onto his back as if to stop her. There was something different about this boy she could feel.

She pulled her arm away and instead of seaking more he turned his face away as if disgusted with himself. There was something different about him indeed. She checked his wound again and was pleased to see he was completely healed of his injury. She looked back to Tommy who shut his eyes as if to block out the events. He whispered, "I'm a fucking idiot."

"Shh, Tommy," she whispered, leaning over him as she caressed his head again, "Go to sleep now...all will be different when you awake."

He looked at her again with questioning eyes but the effects of the V had already began to take over. With Shifters it was different, always different, but she could feel in her chest that first it would be the sleep and then the dreams and then the actions. She kept her eyes open as she watched his lids slowly shut. There was something different about him. He needed safety, he needed security, he needed her but he didn't want her. That was something she had never experienced before.


	2. Chapter 2

The following evening Ange was awoken from her sleep by a gasping lust that filled her body and forced her eyes open. She knew in her blood that the sun had only just begun to set but the pounding and temptation was too strong for her to just go back and rest. What was it that was doing this to her? In her entire life she had never felt such...such need for touch and pleasure as she did at the moment of her awakening and she squeezed her legs shut and tried to stop herself but how could she? And just when she was about to give in a loud scream filled the entire household and the feelings were gone and she knew instantly what it was that had come over her. Tommy.

Shaking off the odd feelings that still lingered, Ange climbed out of her coffin to go check on him. She wasn't afraid that the sun would burn her skin, she had all the shutters shut before she went to bed incase something like this would happen, but what did frighten her was the thought that Tommy would run around in a daze and hurt himself on some of the sharp objects she had laying around the house. She knew shifters were fairly clumsy when confused.

"Shit...Shit...Shit...where're my clothes? Shit?"

Ange peaked into the room in time to see Tommy searching around the empty drawers with the blankets wrapped around his waist and his body sweating uncontrolably, no doubt a caused by her blood. His panic and heavy breathing worked her way into his system, unfortunately making it unbearable to watch his display any longer, "I threw them out. They were dirty and bloody and all ripped up, you don't need those rags anymore."

Upon hearing her voice he threw himself into the corner of the room and held the blanket up to his chest as if he were a terrified young girl. Such a display would have been comical to Ange...if she couldn't feel the exact anxiety running through him. But it was odd. As soon as she recognized the fear it transformed into anger and he grabbed a lamp and waved it around at her, "Back the fuck up! Stay away! I'll fucking kill you!"

"Calm down!" she shouted in the same angry tone, "I'm trying to help you!"

"Yeah, last time someone tried to help me I got shot in the fucking leg now you're gonna back the fuck up and let me out of here!" he threatened but she knew these threats were hollow just as well as he did.

"I'm not going to stop you but calm down a second. Where do you think you're going to go? You have no clothes, no money, no ID, and you can't read. Yeah, that's right. I heard your conversation, I was listening to everything and I know this is a horrible situation and you don't believe me but I just want to help, alright?" she spoke in a calm tone although her insides were the opposite. She waited for a response but instead she got the same wild-eyed stare so she guessed that was a good sign, "Now just...put the lamp down. You don't want to hurt yourself?"

"Hurt myself? I don't think you know who you're fucking with la-"

"The name's Ange. Alright, _not_ lady," she snapped. She knew giving her blood was a bad idea, she was already feeling super irritated.

"Well, _ANGE, _you have no idea who you're fucking with so if you think you're going to fuck me over you're dead fucking wrong," he warned as he placed the lamp down.

Ange rolled her eyes as she folded her arms over her chest-something she never did-before speaking, "Yeah, I _fucking_ get it."

Tommy had no reaction except for a scowl that he didn't bother hiding as he took a calming seat on the edge of the bed, the wild adrenaline was quickly disipating and he was on the verge of a crash. He looked down, breathing hard, with the blanket clutched tightly in his fists. He glanced up at Ange briefly before looking back down, "Why do you want to help me?"

"I have a bleeding heart for people who need help. I do it all the time so don't think it's weird...like I've been stalking you or something. I just stumbled upon the fi-"

"Yeah, you sai- SHIT!" he shouted as he jumped up from his seat and kicked the closet door.

Ange took a fraction of a step back, unsure if Tommy would attack her or attack wildly in general, "What?!"

"Fucking Sam. Shit. He's gonna be looking for me right? Gonna try to hide the body?" Tommy was speaking out loud and waiting for some kind of answer but his ramblings brought another detail she had neglected.

"Shit," she hissed, "he's going to call the police. You were in shock so you didn't see him running for you to see if you were alright. He feels guily for shooting you and he went to go get his phone when I took you here."

"Guilty? Oh, I'll make that son-of-a-bitch feel guilty, I'll show him," he muttered under his breath as he began to pace in circles.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Ange began to caution before it clicked in her brain that he was plotting to do something, "There's no time for revenge. I have to make you better before you think you can head out there."

In honesty she didn't have to do anything, he was free to leave when ever he wanted, but after what she had observed and the rather unfortunate connection they shared she knew he was in no shape to go rejoin society. He was a nutcase, completely insane, and from what she had seen she knew it ran in the family. Of all her cases she had to reform him, it was a necesity. It was be down right unethical to just give him money and let him go. She had to help him.

Unfortunately, he didn't see it that way.

"Like hell you're gonna keep me here. I'm gonna stop at _Merlotte's_ and then I'm gettin' the fuck out as soon as I-..."

There. She had him, "As soon as you what? You don't have a plan, Tommy. Where are you going to go? Back to your brother? Back to Bon Tempts? How are you going to explain your fixed up leg? Do you think Sam's going to just welcome you back with open arms? He's guilty, but not that guilty. You stole his money. You're on his shit list aren't you?"

He was quiet, thinking. He had no real choices. It was either stay here, or leave. And leaving held no promises. Out in the real world he could go to Sam with tail between his legs or he could live out there like an animal, stealing and robbing to survive. Ange shuttered at the thought. He was obviously too proud to go back and if found he'd probably be put to sleep by a dog catcher. She didn't like the sound of that.

"You don't have to stay, it's true. I'm not going to keep you here against your will but this is the best place for you to be. I'll feed you, give you clothes, shelter you, I'll even teach you how to read. I know you're thinking it's weird and why should I want to help you, a stranger, but I can't help it. It's a compulsion, I see someone in need and I have to act on it. The thought of letting someone in your condition back out into the unknown sickens me. It makes me physically ill. You don't owe be anything, Tommy. I'm not going to hurt. What do you have to lose?"

It was the best arguement she could make. It was true what she said, each sentence was the absolute truth and she was sure he could sense that by the way his nostrils flaired as if to sniff out a lie. And they way he stared into her eyes. It was the same way he had the night before, deep and unapologetic where others had been afraid and unbinding where others had been tentative. It was almost stressful to have him stare so deep, odd in a way that was new and weird. But eventually he gave in and sighed heavily as he sat back down to relax on the bed.

"Good choice," she smiled weakly, knowing not to over step her bounds because he was on a light fuse. "Now, I know you must be starving. What do you like to eat? I'll make you anything you can think of."

Ange waited for his answer as she stepped into the room and pulled the suitcase beneath the bed, but she didn't get an answer quiet yet. She could feel his eyes on her as if still trying to find the flaw in this situation but she wasn't planning on giving it to him. She knew the gnawing in his stomach would soon win him over so she bided her time by opening the suitcase and revealing all kinds of fashionable men's wear.

"Hmm, I think these should be your siz-"

"Steak," Tommy suddenly was right beside her, so close she could feel his voice sending sparks against the back of her neck, "a nice thick steak with everything on the side."

Ange turned around to face him and it was then that she realized how tall he was, not so tall but maybe half a foot. It wasn't that she was unaccustomed to being shorter than anyone, she was only unaccustomed to having to look up to someone. All the others always had a submissive posture that allowed her to tower over them like a master but Tommy was the exact opposite with his hunched body that still stood erect and in charge. She took a step back as she asked, "Do you like gravy?"

"I love it," the words rolled out of his mouth like a whisper that grabbed onto his dry lips as if not wanting yet to leave.

What was coming ove rher? She nodded her head as she turned back to the suit case. She pulled all the clothes out and put them on the bed, extracting a new toothbrush and toothpaste just for him as she explained, "There's a bathroom down the hall on the right with a shower and toilet. You should find everything you need in there. I'll call you for supper when it's ready, til then feel free to explore."

Before he could answer she left the room and entered the kitchen. Once in there she let out a deep breath as she leaned against the counter. That feeling that had awoken her was creeping in again but she couldn't act on it! She promised herself that she would never sleep with a project because it would just taint the whole mission. She was trying to make up for the bad things she did, not prostitue the people she took in. But she couldn't help it when his...feelings her jumping around all inside of her. This was begining to feel like such a pain!

She heard the shower turn on and she was inwardly thankful, at least now he could take care of himself and she could focus on more important things; like his brother. _Merlotte's_ he said, his brother's name was also Sam. She knew this Sam Merlotte...or knew of him. Some of her projects had often mentioned the place when they decided to escape or see what the local area was like. She knew he was a good man with a kind heart, kind of a shut in, the perfect canidate for a week retreat to her chateau but the kind that would never agree to it. She had to tell him where Tommy was.

Ange pulled out her cell phone, an old thing she never used, as well as the Bon Tempts phone book. She found the name of the place quickly and dialed the number but instead of Sam it was a female's voice.

"Hello, this is _Merlotte's_, Sookie speaking, what can I do for you?"

"Hello, Sookie. My name is Ange Duciel. I'm looking for Sam Merlotte."

"I'm sorry Ange but Sam's out right now looking for his brother."

"This is about his brother. I have him."

"You have Tommy! What are you doin' with him?! Give him bac-"

"It's not like that. Tommy is staying with me until he clears his mind. Tell Sam I'm taking good care of him and I'll try to get him to call when he's ready. Please, Sookie, let Sam know it's okay, he did the best he could in that situation."

"Alright...but do you have a number or something so Sam can call you back. He's really gonna wanna talk to you. He's been looking for Tommy all day."

"I don't think that's best. I'll just call this number when Tommy is settled. Have a good evening."

"Wai-"

Ange hung up the phone and placed it back in the junk drawer she put all her useless items in. She wondered, briefly, if that was the best thing to do. One hand it helped to ease Sam's search but on the other it wouldn't ease his mind. Ange sighed as she began to take out all the items she'd need to cook Tommy's welcoming feast. This was begining to look like quiet a handful. What if the police were involved? What if a search was in order? She could get into serious trouble

...Maybe she needed to visit the Sheriff and inform him of the ordeal. She already knew he wouldn't care about a matter of a shifter quarrel. In fact, she knew he'd look down on her and probably punish her for the kindess she wished to give out to those that crossed her way. The Sheriff of Area 5 was known for many things and kindness was not one of them. Speaking to him might get her into more trouble than she was already in...no...she would not go to the Sheriff. Not yet atleast.

She had to focus on more important things, like teaching Tommy to read. The thought pulled on her heart strings and pulled up the image of him desperate and crying from the pain in the middle of the forest. He was so helpess and yet not helpess at all. He was such a conundrum. She was still unsure of how she felt about him but that wasn't important. Whether she liked a person or not had nothing to do with if they needed help or not. Her personal feelings never got in the way. But still she needed to help him read. She had some old poems and short stories, some old plays and books that they could read together before the sun came up. There was always a way to deal with these things but...how would she teach? That was the hard part. Ange knew that she had only a limited amount of patience. Could she deal with Tommy's temper and attitude?

"Smell's good."

The voice belonged to Tommy but that still didn't stop Ange from jumping at the sound of it. She found herself in the dinning room with everything set up on the table for his consumtion. She had just been in the process of pouring some red wine for the both of them when his arrival startled her and caused her to spill on the cherry wood, "Shit, you scared me!"

"Sorry 'bout that. Here let me clean that up," Tommy offered as he reached for a napkin that was by her hand. His knuckles, hot and burning, grazed against hers and forced her hand to pull away as her eyes met his. He gave sheepish smirk as he stopped his action of pulling his own hand away, "Sorry 'bout that too."

What was wrong with her? Had he scared her that bad? She laughed softly at her own nervousness as she watched him clean up the spill, "Don't worry about it. I was so deep in thought I didn't even hear you finish your shower. How was it?"

There, she was back. She finished pouring the wine as she carefully glanced over Tommy's attire. He looked much different than he had before, the new clothes defintely worked wonders on him, but he still need a quick lesson in putting it all together, "Awesome. I don't think I've ever had a shower feel so good."

"Then why were you out so quick?" she asked as she took her seat beside Tommy and watched him look over the food, trying to cover up his watering mouth.

"I'm just used to quick showers, I guess," he answered as he took another napkin and unfolded it on his lap.

She could tell by his unsure actions that it was something he had never done before and for some reason it brought a little smile to her lips to see that he was trying, "Well, I think now is a good time to make our toast to breaking old habits."

Tommy lifted his glass, awkwardly holding it by the stem instead of the bud, as he repeated, "To breakin' old habits."

Ange lifted up her glass and tapped it against the side of his, "Yes, indeed." They took a sip of the wine that was the year she was made and something she old brought out on special occasions, "No dig in."

He didn't need to be told again. Ange couldn't help but laugh as she watched him rip into the food with his hands and the utensils and what ever was in his possession. He was easily the most reckless dinner guest she had ever had and in a strange way that was refreshing. He tried to slow his pace but there was no use, he was famished. There was something about his bluntness she enjoyed.

This was going to be fun, she thought.

There was something in his sheepish, food-filled, grin that told her that his thoughts were the same exactly.


End file.
